The Spectator’s Notes | 10 March 2007

When I employed him at the Daily Telegraph, I found John Kampfner, now the editor of the New Statesman, a pleasant and able man. But his recent conduct towards one of his writers deserves a passage in the annals of editorial eccentricity. Nick Cohen, who is a leftwing columnist in the New Statesman, has written a brilliant book called What’s Left (4th Estate). Its essential argument is that large parts of the Left are so disoriented by the death of traditional socialism and so crazed with hatred of Bush and Blair that they ignore the fascism of the Islamists and the sufferings of their comrades on the Left — feminists, gay rights activists, trade unionists, secularists — at their hands. Kampfner accepted an invitation from Radio 4’s Start the Week to appear on the pretext of something else and pan his columnist’s book. Not content with this, he then reviewed it himself in his own publication in whatever are the opposite of glowing terms (glowering terms?). I suspect Cohen will take the hint and depart, a loss to a once-great paper.

***

Last month, I received an honorary degree. As is obvious from the press pictures of the best-known recipients — Bob Geldof, Bob Dylan — this is a rite of passage to middle age. The degree was from the University of Buckingham, unique in this country for existing without any help from the state. As a result of its independence, Buckingham is poor, but honest. It has no ancient, well-endowed buildings, nor any enormous, modern, subsidised campus. Instead, it is dotted about the charming county town. The degree ceremony was held in Gilbert Scott’s handsome parish church. The atmosphere was very jolly, entirely lacking the resentment which so often permeates academic life. How I long for the day when all universities are like this, and no central power can tell them what to study and whom to admit.